Thorpe Man Faces Court For Allegedly Threatening Juror

A Jim Thorpe man convicted in December of attempted murder was bound over for court yesterday on charges of threatening a member of the jury which convicted him.

James J. Didyoung, 21, of 317 W. Broadway, was ordered to appear in Carbon County Court on charges of terroristic threats and retaliation from a past offensive action following a preliminary hearing yesterday before District Justice Paul Hadzick of Beaver Meadows. Hadzick dismissed a second count of terroristic threats.

Didyoung was charged with threatening Dennis J. McHugh of Lansford, one of the jurors, and Harry Hontz Jr. of Coaldale in the Pen-Mart store in Lansford on March 4.

A jury found the defendant guilty Dec. 20 of criminal attempt to commit homicide and two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the beating of his older brother Thomas.

Didyoung has asked for a retrial of the case, contending that McHugh failed to disclose that he was related to two Jim Thorpe policemen working on the case.

McHugh testified yesterday that he was working in the Pen-Mart store on March 4 when the defendant came into the store two times - first topurchase gasoline and the second time to purchase a pack of gum.

McHugh said that when Didyoung left the store the second time the defendant pulled up to the door in his car, blocked the entrance, and made obscene gestures and shouted into the store.

McHugh told the court he asked Hontz, a friend who was visiting him at the store, to ask Didyoung to leave. The defendant did not leave, but continued to shout for McHugh.

McHugh said he went to the door of the store and Didyoung said to him: "You ruined my life. Because of you I'm going to jail. I'll get you for it."

McHugh said the defendant threatened to kill him, and also threatened Hontz.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Renald Baratta of Easton, McHugh said that there were several other people in the store at the time but they could not hear the conversation between the three men because they were in the back of the building.

He said that Didyoung had been in the store several times before March 4 and had not threatened him.

Hontz, who was sequestered during McHugh's testimony, concurred with his friend's statements. He added that Didyoung left the property after Hontz went back into the store and telephoned Lansford police.

In asking Hadzick to drop the charges, Baratta claimed the conversation between his client and the other two men was just "a lot of angry talk."

"This sort of thing goes on 80 times a day when people are angry at each other," he claimed. "That's all that went on."

Richard Webb, county district attorney, claimed this was not a case of families or neighbors arguing, but rather a "particularly distasteful" incident in which a juror was threatened because of his service on the panel.

In dismissing one of the terroristic threat charges, Hadzick said there was not enough evidence ofthreats against Hontz.

Didyoung was returned to Carbon County Prison and bail was continued at $20,000 cash. He was ordered to appear for arraignment in county court on May 1.